The millimeter-wave (mmWave) wireless personal area networks (WPAN) communication systems operating in the 60 GHz frequency band are expected to provide several Gbps throughput to distances of about 10 m and will be entering into service in a few years. Currently, several standardization bodies (IEEE 802.15.3c, WirelessHD SIG, ECMA TG20) consider different concepts of the mmWave WPAN systems to define the systems which are the best suited for the multi-Gbps WPAN applications.
For the traditional WPAN approach, the signal is radiated isotropically or directionally to receiver as it is schematically shown in FIG. 1, generally as 100. With this approach, the signal level of the given WPAN transmitter decreases with the distance increase as a 1/R2 (free space approximation—only 6 dB attenuation increase as the distance doubles) or under similar polynomial law. So if the number of the WPAN users are significant and they are located close to each other, the mutual interference and the frequency reuse problems are prevalent.
Thus, a strong need exists for an invention that remedies the aforementioned shortcomings of existing WPAN systems, apparatus and methods.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.